Dragon Blood peacock (Strawberry): care, color and tank mates

The Dragon Blood, also called the Strawberry peacock, is one of the best-selling peacocks: a red-orange body with a white-pink netting over every scale, like a strawberry. It is calm, hardy and very easy to combine. This guide explains what it is and how to keep its color.

Quick facts

Name	Dragon Blood or Strawberry peacock, Aulonocara "Dragon Blood"
Origin	Aquarium-bred line, not wild
Adult size	12 to 15 cm
Temperament	Calm
Minimum tank	250 liters, 120 cm long
Water	pH 7.8 to 8.6, hard; 24 to 27 °C
Diet	Quality pellets, with krill or mysis

Where it comes from

The Dragon Blood does not exist in Lake Malawi: it is an aquarium variety, developed by breeders from peacocks (Aulonocara) selected for color. The same is true of the OB peacock or the Rubin Red. We always say so in our profiles.

How the color changes

Juveniles are pink or pale orange, sometimes almost white. The red and the netting show from about 5 or 6 cm and keep deepening into adulthood. The male ends up redder, with spotted fins and egg spots on the anal fin. The female is colorful too, though paler. If you buy a young one, be patient: the color comes with age.

To keep the red intense:

• Food with carotenoids: krill, mysis and pellets with astaxanthin bring out the red naturally.
• Good water quality: stress and dirty water dull it.
• No bullying: a male dominated by another loses color. See why a cichlid loses color.

Be wary of very small Dragon Bloods with an overly intense red: some sellers use hormones or dyes, and that color fades within weeks.

Care

It is kept like any peacock: a tank of 250 liters or more with fine sand and room to swim, hard and alkaline water, a good filter and weekly water changes. We explain it in tank size and stocking and feeding mbuna and peacocks.

Tank mates

• Good: blue and yellow peacocks such as the Sulfurhead or the Benga, and calm haps such as the Blue Dolphin.
• With care: calm mbuna such as the Electric Yellow, in large tanks.
• Avoid: aggressive mbuna and large predators.
• One red male per tank: two males of the same color will fight.

More combinations in compatible African cichlids.

Breeding

A Dragon Blood pair breeds readily: the female holds the eggs in her mouth for about three weeks. To keep the line, breed them only with each other and not with females of other peacocks. More in how to breed African cichlids.

Dragon Blood in Costa Rica

We have already-sexed Dragon Blood males and females, now 50 % off. It is a good time to put together a pair or a group. Each profile has real photos and the price.